40 people received acertificate from Bishop John last Sunday to mark the completion of theircourses to become Authorised Lay Ministers (ALMs). The special service atWorcester Cathedral was a celebration of this form of lay ministry.
Authorised lay ministers trainover a year to be equipped for specific roles in the parish. This years ALMshave been in trained in either administration, childrens and youth work,pastoral work or as worship leaders.They will work alongside ordained clergy and licensed lay ministers aspart of the ministry teams in their individual parishes.
During the service, the Revd CanonDoug Chaplin, Lay Development and Discipleship Officer, gave an address to thenewly authorised ministers. He said: We are ministering in interesting andchallenging times. To be ministers of Christ we first need to become disciplesof Christ; we are all called to be lifelong learners of how to live our livesin Jesus image. We also need each others gifts, ministry and service ministry in the New Testament is always shared and only together can we be thebody of Christ. And finally, to be ministers we need wisdom, which comesthrough regular study and reading of the scriptures. To love and seek wisdom isto love and seek Jesus.
Caryl Mills from the parish ofHampton in Evesham was authorised as an Administrator. She said: It was a goodand very interesting course. Ill definitely be able to use different elementsin my parish and it was great to swap ideas and learn from the best practice ofothers.
Stanley Condliffe from Badseyin the East Vale and Avon group of parishes trained as a Childrens and YouthWork ALM. He said: Its been absolutely brilliant. The tutors had a greatsense of humour and the course was filled with relevant, up to dateinformation.
Claire Charley from St Mary,Pickersleigh, Eve Canbray from the Four Rivers Churches and Jane Bowen from StPeters Church in Droitwich all completed the course to become PastoralWorkers. They said: We really enjoyed the course and learnt a lot from eachother. It was a close supportive group and weve committed to praying for eachother as well as continuing to meet. It was a comprehensive course which willbe very useful in our parishes.
Claire Cox from the Gornal andSedgley team was authorised as an ALM Worship Leader. She said: I loved it!The structure of the course was great and the tutors were brilliant. Its givenme more confidence to be able to structure a service and know how everythinglinks together. Ive also been completing the Bishops Certificate and togetherthe two courses have really helped me to go back into the parish to talk toothers about Gods love.
See more pictures from the service
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